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In another post, someone mentioned whether Milwaukee offered any impact sockets. While they don’t have a very rich lineup of impact sockets and drive accessories, they do have a couple of deep thin-wall sockets.

To start, there are 3/8″ and 1/2″ starter sets, both with 1/2″ and 9/16″ sockets, and 1/4″ hex to square drive adapters.

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I have a few sockets that were bundled in Shockwave bit assortments, but also a few packs of these same 3pc sets. Sometimes a nut drive doesn’t provide the best results for longer lag screws, but these do the trick.

By no means are these the best impact sockets money could buy. But they’re good. Construction brands’ impact sockets tend to be a one-size-fits-all solution. Sometimes you want shallow sockets, other times deep, and occasionally you might want a replacement or extra socket for just one size – good luck with that.

I’ve bought Milwaukee Shockwave impact sockets before, and can guarantee that I’ll buy more. Part of the reason is how they’re conveniently widely accessible.

So, to sum it up – yes, Milwaukee impact sockets do exist. They don’t really shine a light on them often, but they’re out there, and they don’t suck. That last part isn’t exactly a glowing endorsement, I know, but I thought it to be a fair and accurate description.

Is This a Test?

The two 3pc sets – okay, those are common construction fastener socket sizes in 3/8″ and 1/2″ drive. A 3/8″ socket set with metal organizer rail? Sure. Metric 1/4″ socket set with a nice-looking case? What about imperial? 3/8″? Finally, there’s the inch 1/2″ socket set, also with a similar good-looking case. What about metric?

Are they testing the market?

My understanding of how Milwaukee Tool operates suggests that their Shockwave impact socket product offerings each target very specific users and audiences. But that doesn’t quite help me feel any baffled at the lack of consistency.

So either they’re testing the market, they’re targeting very specific users, or there are more offerings that simply aren’t listed on Milwaukee’s website or retailers’ catalogs.

If you are selling cordless impact guns and ratchet wrenches – then can sockets to go with them be far behind?

The fact that 3 of the items pictured come with 1/4 hex for square drive attachments – suggest that they want to market to folks who own impact drivers rather than impact guns. I have to admit that I use my Milwaukee 2765-20 Fuel Impact Driver (7/16 Hex Drive) with a Proto J7121 (7/16 hex to 1/2 sq.) adapter and impact sockets to drive lags.

BTW – the first electric (corded) impact gun that I ever bought was a Skil 471-2. It came in a metal case with six short-pattern heavy-walled impact sockets included. The sockets ranged from 1/2 hex to 13/16 hex and five of the six had the Skil name on them. The exception was the 5/8 that had the Cornwell name on it. I assumed that Cornwell (still a family-owned business) was the OEM for the Skil sockets as well. I wonder who the OEM is for these Milwaukee sockets? Whoever they are – their cases look nice but seem to waste space. The rail seems to be more space-efficient.

I agree, every time I see a limited amount of sockets when a complete offering would sell so much more.

TTi/Milwaukee really, really doesn’t seem to understand how much electric impacts and drill/driving tools are used in the auto industry nowadays, not just at the construction site.

Even just a complete metric set of 3/8″ and 1/2″ deep sockets in common sizes would be good.

They’re really blowing an opportunity here since auto techs and even DIYers really like the thinner wall impact sockets because they fit about the same places you can use a chrome socket – but use an impact power tool, without worrying about cracking or shattering a socket.

Same thing goes for Bosch too, but they have an even more limited socket offering, despite selling plenty of electric impact wrenches and drivers.

“By no means are these the best impact sockets money could buy. But they’re good.”

You’ve just heard of them, have never seen, let alone used them, but feel comfortable making that statement?

You do show a pretty heavy Milwaukee bias. Maybe they’re kinder to the press, or it could be a regional thing, as you think little of Makita and they’re respected out here in California. Or an exposure thing. I don’t think much of Bosch having little experience other than customers’ broken drills and the 1 year warranty.

I was just thinking that Stuart may post a tad more about Dewalt than Milwaukee and then even less about Makita – but I have not done any recent counting. In a recent post, he did some explaining about how he finds it difficult to get info out of Makita and I guess if that engenders a bit of a negative bias it is understandable. Anyway – some postings may be consistent with how well a manufacturer toots their own horn.

We used lots of Makita 18V LXT tools – standardizing on that platform for one business that I used to run. For the basic tools we had something between 16 and 20 of each – but I still would not call that a statistically significant sample on which to base authoritative opinions. I dealt mostly with a servicing-dealer not the company – but did think that #3 Makita kept their “candle under a bucket” (as the expression goes) compared to #2 Milwaukee who was seemingly trying to gain ground on #1 Dewalt.

Back on the topic of impact sockets – we have lots of choices – Stuart posted about ones from Gearwrench, Dewalt and now Milwaukee – but there are a plethora of other manufacturers. I would not presume to say which ones are best and/or for what purpose/trades that is so. I have a mix of deep impact sockets from Craftsman, Proto and SK – bought as I needed them – based on availability and brand recognition/reputation – not any tests that I’d seen. I suspect, that I (and my pocket book) may have been just as well served by other lower-cost sockets -as I do not use mine in anything approaching a commercial or industrial setting. I agree with you that, absent experience and testing Stuart might have been more circumspect in his choice of words about where these Milwaukee sockets fit into the spectrum – between “not the best and good”. But I don’t think that his comments were meant to either promote or denigrate the Milwaukee sockets.

Generally, I think Stuart and Toolguyd postings are fair and don’t pretend to represent themselves as expert opinion based years of experience or rigorous testing and use . What makes Toolguyd an interesting read (IMO anyway) is that Stuarts posts elicit comments from folks like you and me, often offering different perspectives and sometimes suggesting that he and other commenters may wish to rethink what they’ve said or how they say it . So I’d say to both Stuart and you – keep up the good work.

About brand post frequency – this time of year, I don’t count posts, space them out, or even look at what’s been written about when I work on new posts. I work as hard as I can in overdrive mode. If there are 3 Dewalt topics to 1 Milwaukee, I’m not going to balance things out just to give different brands equal exposure.

This week especially, it’s about the best deals I can find, with regular content mixed in for variety.

As for the sockets, a reader mentioned in a comment to another post that Milwaukee doesn’t make impact sockets. This is a sentiment I had before learning otherwise a few months ago and being surprised.

These sockets fit into a muddy grey area.

I bought some, I like them, and can recommend them. If someone asks “should I buy those Milwaukee impact sockets,” I can honestly say “sure, they’re okay.”

But if someone says “I’m looking for a new set of impact sockets,” I don’t think these would fall anywhere near my top choices.

Or if I was looking to buy a set of impact sockets for personal use, the same ambivalence would come up.

I bought my Milwaukee impact sockets for a specific task. And then I bought more so I can have duplicates for testing tools.

These sockets are about convenience. They’re widely available, or they should be widely available at Milwaukee tool and accessory dealers.

This post was perhaps rushed a little, but no amount of proofreading or steptoeing over my words would have made it much less awkward.

These are tools, or rather accessories, that I like using, and will buy again. But you can’t buy them in all the sizes you might need, or in different styles (shallow instead of deep). That makes the lineup somewhat weak and less recommendable.

It’s hard to balance the right words to match my feelings. How does one balance “They’re good and I like them,” with “but the best thing about them is the convenience factor” ? And when there are 40 other posts that need to be written in a schedule that normally allows for 6-10?

The post was mostly about giving readers familiarity about the sockets, so that if this was something they needed in the future, they’d know about them.

At the same time I picked up my Milwaukee sockets, I also bought a few sets of Makita Impact Gold sockets. Those are in 3/8″ drive, though, and I preferred the Milwaukee’s 1/2″, so I bought both. But those are more widely known about, and I’ve posted about them before, so that’s why you see a post here about the Milwaukee Shockwave sockets, and not the Makita.

Just to add to this, they’ve had these sets out for probably 5-6 years….at least. I own all three, but only use them as occasional use/on-the-go sockets. I have a bigger heavier set that I use when I’m at home/in the shop.